No News Like Home Theatre NewsHome theatre systems are the new addition to the multimedia scene and their popularity is only set to increase in the future. They are a truly great way to keep you and your family entertained if you fancy a night in. They also make the whole TV watching process a little more awe inspiring. TV is now quite an old invention and they haven't advanced in any really innovative way for quite a while now. That's until the Home Theater News popped up and now we have an exciting new choice. We can choose to keep up to date with the world, watch our DVDs and favourite sitcoms through a TV, or now we can choose a new means of home entertainment. Home theatres are great if you have the space and finance available and can really turn a house into a home. (more...) Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-Ray Player Reviewed by the USBlu-ray discs were first introduced in 2006 as the new optical disc format that would replace the DVD. But consumers were slow to respond. One of the reasons for this is that the DVDs had been around for more than a decade now and prices have never been lower. For example, a no frills DVD player can be purchased for about twenty pounds, while an affordable Blu-ray player is about six to ten times as expensive. That's right! Blu-ray discs are not compatible with regular DVD players, so you will have to fork over at least an extra hundred pounds for a new device. Perhaps that is why it took more than three years for consumers to send a clear signal that it might be time for a change. In 2009, people invested in Blu-ray technology at a record pace. Sales of the discs themselves increased by 167 percent, while sales of DVD discs declined for the first time in history. In the next two paragraphs we will take a closer look at the Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-Ray Player Reviewed . (more...) JVC XV-BP11 Blu-Ray Player Reviewed by UsersWhen it was first introduced, it was believed that the Blu-ray would replace the DVD in short order. After all, Blu-ray discs not only offered a much better, cleaner picture, but they also provided four times the storage capacity of DVD discs. This meant that new movie releases were often packed with special features when they were offered on Blu-ray. The only problem was that this new format, like most new technologies, was far more expensive. This was particularly true when it came to Blu-ray players, since the discs are not compatible with standard DVD players. On average, a new Blu-ray player costs about two-hundred pounds, while a new DVD player goes for about twenty to thirty pounds. Perhaps that is why it took more than three years for consumers to finally warm up to Blu-ray technology. In 2009, sales for Blu-ray discs grew by an astonishing 167 percent, while sales of DVDs fell by nearly nine percent. It was the first time in their fifteen year history that DVD sales declined. In the next few paragraphs we are going to discuss the JVC XV-BP11 Blu-Ray Player Reviewed . (more...) Home Theater Review 2009 Best of Awards for HomeownersAs soon as high-definition television sets became affordable to the masses, industry insiders took note of a growing trend in home entertainment. They referred to them as home theaters because they attempted to recreate the movie theater experience in the home. Generally speaking, a home theater includes a big screen, high-definition television set, a surround sound stereo system, and some type of optical disc player, often a DVD or a Blu-ray player. These systems can be installed for as little as five thousand and as much as twenty thousand pounds. Why such a wide discrepancy in price? Well, for one thing, most of this technology is relative new, which means that it can be quite pricey because there is not much competition. For example, the average top of the line Plasma or LCD flat screen goes for at least two thousand pounds, and that is one sale. So, when it comes to Home Theater Review 2009 Best of Awards , make sure you keep your hand on your wallet. The best advice we can give you if you are considering a home theater system is to make certain not to skimp on any one component. What we mean is that you should not blow eighty percent of your budget on the television and only leave a few hundred pounds for the sound system and optical disc player. (more...) Bowers and Wilkins XT4 Loudspeaker Reviewed by the PublicThe recent popularity of home theaters has given rise to an entirely new industry, the surround sound system for the home. In this article we are going to discuss floor-standing models, which have taken a beating of late to the more popular on-wall and in-wall speaker systems. If you have never heard of them before, an on-wall or in-wall speakers system is one that includes a number of smaller speakers that can be mounted or attached to the wall in the family or TV room. The speakers that we will be reviewing are Bowers and Wilkins XT4 Loudspeaker Reviewed . Why have floor-standing models like this one been losing ground to the wall-mounted models? Well, one reason is that they are a bit cheaper. However, few would have the temerity to state that wall-mounted models are superior. The truth is that they are not. In fact, floor-standing models often test better in consumer reviews than other models. The XT4 is considered one of the most aesthetically pleasing floor-standing speaker sets on the market today. The speakers are designed specifically for the movie experience and they offer the appropriate amount of power and natural volumes. (more...) |